State House News -- Like House, Senate budget falls short of spending sought by Patrick

Senate budget officials on Wednesday will present plans for state spending of $33.9 billion in fiscal 2014, an annual budget that relies on $430 million in new taxes tied up in a separate transportation financing bill.

By Matt Murphy, State House News Service

The Taunton Daily Gazette, Taunton, MA

By Matt Murphy, State House News Service

Posted May. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 15, 2013 at 3:17 PM

By Matt Murphy, State House News Service
Posted May. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 15, 2013 at 3:17 PM

Senate budget officials on Wednesday will present plans for state spending of $33.9 billion in fiscal 2014, an annual budget that relies on $430 million in new taxes tied up in a separate transportation financing bill.

Like the $34 billion House budget approved in April, the Senate plan, which will be debated next week, falls well short of the investments sought by Gov. Deval Patrick in both transportation and education. Patrick in January filed a $34.8 billion spending plan.

Describing the spending plan as a reflection of the priorities of senators, Senate Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Brewer told the News Service Wednesday morning that the differences between his committee’s budget and the House budget are “incremental.”

But the discrepancies between the legislative budget proposals and the increased investments sought by Gov. Patrick and fueled by broad new tax increases will set up a complex dynamic between the Legislature and the governor’s office as the Senate debates the budget next week and the bills move into conference committee.

Both the House and Senate rely on identical new revenues for fiscal 2014 from a transportation financing bill currently being negotiated, and while Patrick vowed to veto the House transportation bill, he has said he is “encouraged” but still reviewing the Senate proposal that dedicates roughly $800 million to transportation by 2018.

The overall Senate budget proposal recommends an increase in spending of $1.4 billion, or 4.4 percent, over fiscal 2013, and comes in $67.5 million less than the final House budget and $904 million lower than Patrick’s recommended spending that relied on a $1.9 billion new tax package including an income tax increase that the House and Senate have sidelined.

The budget, which will be voted on by the Senate Ways and Means Committee at noon, makes limited progress toward Patrick’s goal of reducing the waiting list of children for early education and care, adding a $15 million line item for subsidized child care to families on the waitlist. The House made no new investments in early education.

While the spending won’t eliminate the wait list of more than 30,000 children, Brewer said 2,000 children will be served with subsidized care, marking the first time the state has expanded access since fiscal 2009. The Senate will also call for an independent research assessment of the wait list and its management, but did not follow the House’s lead in creating a new compliance office with oversight tasked to the auditor.

“We’re not opposed to the direction the governor is going for infrastructure and education. The challenge is do you go for 80 yards or 40 yards? We’re taking a more measured approach,” Brewer said.

The Senate is due to debate the spending proposal for next fiscal year starting next Wednesday after Senate President Therese Murray returns from a 10-day trade mission to Ireland.

The Senate budget proposal includes a $130.1 million increase in Chapter 70 local aid, of which $17 million is targeted at school districts below foundation funding levels, guaranteeing all schools receive at least $25 per pupil.

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The proposal also fully funds the special education circuit breaker with $22.4 million in additional spending, and increases funding for regional school transportation by $5 million over fiscal 2013 and for charter school reimbursements by $5.9 million over this year.

While the Senate budget does take steps closer to the investments Patrick sought from the Legislature in education, the budget makes a smaller investment in higher education that University of Massachusetts officials and the state universities said was critical to avoiding increased tuition and fees for the upcoming school year.

The Senate budget boosts funding for UMass by $15 million and for the state university system and the community college system by $10 million each. While the House had proposed to move toward a 50-50 funding split between the state and UMass over two years, the Senate plan only makes a quarter of the two-year investment. The difference will be negotiated in the budget conference committee.

“We can’t be all things to all people,” Brewer said.

UMass officials say the budget, despite the funding increases, would fall short of the level of funding needed to institute a tuition and fee freeze. “We are not going to give up on the students of Massachusetts. We are going to make our case for 50-50 funding as the Senate moves forward with its budget debate. The stakes are simply too high to do otherwise,” UMass President Robert Caret said in a statement.

Like the House, the Senate Ways and Means Committee is relying on $350 million from the state’s “rainy day” to support spending next fiscal year, which would leave a balance of $1.3 billion in reserves. Brewer said the budget also utilizes $277 million in other one-time revenue sources, equal to the portion of one-time revenues used to balance this fiscal year’s budget.

Brewer said the Senate plan increases funding by $6.5 million for elder home care services to eliminate a waiting list that will allow roughly 1,500 seniors to receive care in their homes at a fraction of the cost of a nursing home.

The budget plan would also boost by almost $20 million state funding for sustainable housing and rental assistance programs to move families out of hotels and motels and provide a bridge from some individuals to get assistance before they are at “imminent risk” of homelessness.

Brewer said he has heard stories of some citizens living in their cars before they become eligible for rental and transitional assistance. “It’s not humane or human to have that situation,” he said.

The Senate Ways and Means budget would also make a greater commitment than the House plan to youth summer jobs funding with $8 million, or $3 million higher than the final House budget proposal.

Brewer said the spending plan also includes sufficient funding to keep Taunton State Hospital open with 45 beds, while making a greater commitment to community-based mental health services.

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“This budget is a commitment to the understanding that mental health patients and their families are best served close to home,” said Sen. Marc Pacheco, a Taunton Democrat. “I look forward to fighting for new ways to reposition Taunton State Hospital that would extend its quality care to more residents who need it in Southeastern Massachusetts.”

Mentioning the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Brewer said, “Mental health is a root cause of a lot of mayhem in our society and if we can be helpful early on that can be useful.”